VALPARAISO -- If the man who sang protest songs about gasoline costs from the top of a gas station tries it again, he'll be singing Sam Cooke's "Chain Gang" next, Judge David L. Chidester said Thursday.
Chidester sentenced Jerry "Jay" Weinberg, 29, of Valparaiso, to six months of unsupervised probation in exchange for a guilty plea to misdemeanor trespassing.
He will also have to pay a $1,000 fine, but the prosecution dropped a disorderly conduct charge as part of the plea.
As part of his statement, Weinberg read a lengthy, page-long speech about the country's dependency on fossil fuels.
The statement also addressed freedom of speech and world concerns.
Weinberg made news when he climbed on top of the Family Express at 204 Silhavy Road on May 5 just before 5 p.m. and sang a protest song, which is now available online.
According to court documents, Weinberg's chanting, singing and yelling through a megaphone cause traffic blockage in the Silhavy and LaPorte Avenue intersection and also blocked the Family Express entrance
Long as I remember The rain been coming down. Clouds of Mystery pouring Confusion on the ground. Good men through the ages, Trying to find the sun; And I wonder, Still I wonder, Who'll stop the rain.
